PCA Holds FCA Student Led Chapel
By: Brayden Gravley, PCA junior
Each year Pinewood Christian Academy holds FCA student led chapels along with the annual See You at the Pole event. Cadence Lynn led the upper school service and Audrey Kate Smith led the lower school service. Praise band members, Aaron Lyons and Abi Oates, also led the upper school students as they worshipped.
Cadence Lynn, a junior at PCA, spoke from John 1:3-4 “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Lynn shared her fascination with the fact that God made us each of us unique and that He cares about all of us individually. She also spoke about the analogies in this verse. Most things that are compared are good and bad, such as life and death or light and dark. Since God is referred to as the life and the light of men, without Him there would be death and darkness. She expressed her concern for her peers that may not know God and made it clear throughout her sermon that God wants us to have a personal relationship with Him no matter what sins we have committed in the past. We are meant to follow in His footsteps and spread His Word. “How much do you have to hate someone to not tell them about God?” Lynn asked the crowd as she concluded her speech, leaving her fellow students to think about how their dislike for others may be blinding them from following the Lord. When interviewed, Lynn explained the intent of her final question, “To not tell someone about Jesus we must really hate them because what if we are the only person they ever encountered who has a relationship with Christ. If we don’t tell them about His saving grace, they may never come to know Jesus and their death will bring them eternal separation from Him in hell. Someone who truly loves Jesus and has a relationship with Him would not wish the realities of hell even on their worst enemy.”
Audrey Kate Smith, a PCA freshman, spoke from the book of Numbers. The specific story she talked about was Numbers 21:4-9 “The Bronze Serpent.” In this story, the people of Egypt are impatient and questioning the Lord. They wonder why He has brought them into the wilderness and begin to speak against Him and Moses. God sent fiery serpents to bite those who had questioned Him so that many of the Israelites perished. Others came to Moses and begged him to ask God for forgiveness on their behalf. Moses prayed and God forgave the people, giving them a remedy for their bites. He told Moses to set a fiery serpent on a pole. Anyone who looked at the serpent on the pole after being bitten would live. Smith’s main point was “fear into faith, faith over fear.” She stated the interesting fact that humans are born with two fears, falling and loud noises, and every other fear is learned. “It is good to be scared sometimes, but it is even better to know who to put your trust in when you are scared,” Smith said, on the topic of placing God above your fears. Jesus was placed on the cross just like the serpent was placed on the pole and, just like the snake bite victims looked to the pole for life, we should look to the Lord for life. The snake was impaled on a pole, hurting in order to save people from their wounds. This story reflects how Jesus was made to suffer in order to save us from our sins. “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1.
The FCA student led chapels give PCA students an opportunity to talk about what God puts on their hearts. It often helps other students to hear and relate to someone their age. Whether He calls you to speak in front of a crowd or lead your classmates in song, every aspect of these special chapels is unique and important. Pinewood is lucky to have such talented leaders among its student body.
